Distillate Imports Surged to Meet Supply/Demand Imbalance

Imports were the largest source of new supply that arrived to relieve the imbalance that was behind the price spike. This graph shows the dramatic increase on a calendar monthly average basis.

During the three weeks ending February 25, distillate fuel oil imports averaged 566 thousand barrels per day. During the prior four weeks, imports only averaged 162 thousand barrels per day.

Refinery production on the East Coast also increased. For the three weeks ending February 25, East Coast distillate production averaged 478 thousand barrels per day, which was an increase of about 91 thousand barrels per day or 24% over the prior four weeks. (During the same time period, national distillate production only rose 7 percent.)